Investing

Iconic Billionaire Investor Leon Cooperman Trims Holding—Here's What He's Betting On

Will Ashworth

Published: February 9, 2025 8:37 am

Leon Cooperman was 75 when he shut down his former hedge fund, Omega Advisors, in 2018 after 27 years. He did so to maximize his time to do other things besides managing other people’s money.  

At his announcement, Omega had approximately $3.6 billion in assets under management. Over half were the general partner’s capital, and the other half were his clients’ money. Omega returned their capital. 

According to Omega’s Q2 2018 13F holdings report, the hedge fund had $2.87 billion in assets invested in 85 securities. Cooperman opened a family office to invest his family’s assets. As of Sept. 30, 2024, Cooperman had seven clients with $4.37 billion in assets under management. 

The Q3 2024 13F report showed that Cooperman had $2.35 billion invested in 40 securities, less than half the number of holdings when Omega was shut down and 12 lower than in Q2 2024. 

In the third quarter, Cooperman sold out of 12 stocks and reduced his holdings in six other stocks while making no new purchases and adding to 17 of his existing holdings. 

Here’s what stands out from the billionaire’s moves in the third quarter.

Key Points About This Article:

• Iconic hedge fund billionaire Leon Cooperman might be semi-retired, but he continues to make interesting investments. 
• Cooperman sold out of 12 stocks in Q3 2024, reducing the number of stocks held by 23%. 
• Despite shrinking the number of holdings, adding to his Finance of America (NYSE:FOA) position was the billionaire’s most interesting move in the third quarter.  
• Sit back and let dividends do the heavy lifting for a simple, steady path to serious wealth creation over time. Grab a free copy of “2 Legendary High-Yield Dividend Stocks” now.

Cooperman Closes Out 3 Significant Positions

Of the 12 stocks Cooperman sold out of in the third quarter, three stocks each accounted for 2% or more of his portfolio at the end of Q2 2024. 

The three were Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN), Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS), and KBR (NYSE:KBR), which accounted for 4.40%, 2.8%, and 2.17%, respectively. As of June 30, the three stocks were worth $222 million. 

Cooperman acquired DVN, LVS, and KBR in Q1 2023 and KBR in Q1 2024. He paid an average price per share of $19.27 for Devon, $49.26 for Las Vegas Sands, and $58.52 for KBR. 

Based on the trio’s share prices between June 30 and Sept. 30, Cooperman likely made money on his DVN and KBR bets while breaking even or possibly losing money on his LVS investment.

Notably, all 12 stocks Cooperman closed out in the third quarter were all bought between Q1 2023 and Q2 2024. Further, the billionaire’s 40 holdings were all bought in Q1 2023 or later, with nothing held for more than seven quarters. 

Apollo Global Management Profit-Taking

Cooperman reduced his position in six stocks in the third quarter. The fourth-largest by weight, alternative asset manager Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO), remains one of the billionaire’s most significant holdings despite selling 138,00 APO shares in Q3 2024. 

Profit-taking was likely the reason he trimmed his Apollo holdings. Apollo is estimated to have paid $67.19 a share for its stock. It closed the third quarter at $124.91, nearly double what Cooperman paid. That’s a win. 

Of the six stocks whose positions were trimmed, it’s clear from the average prices paid for each that Cooperman made money on four of these bets. Anytime your success rate is 67%, you ought to be happy. 

Financial Stocks Were the Focus in Q3 2024

As mentioned in the introduction, Cooperman made no new purchases in the third quarter while adding to 17 existing positions. Five of the 17 were financial services stocks, most of which are unfamiliar names to many investors. 

The largest of the five financial stocks by weight is WillScot Holdings (NASDAQ:WSC), a North American leading provider of flexible space and storage solutions. It is the billionaire’s fifth-largest holding at 5.83%. Cooperman first bought shares in Q1 2023. He’s yet to generate a significant return from his WSC return. 

I’m not sure why WhaleWisdom.com considers it a finance stock. S&P Global Market Intelligence labels it Construction and Engineering. Morningstar identifies WillScot as part of the Industrials sector. Both of these categorizations make more sense. 

Finance of America (NYSE:FOA) seems like the most interesting bet of the other four finance stocks. Its shares are up 225% over the past year through Feb. 7. Cooperman added 385,435 in the third quarter, upping its position by 58%. He first bought shares in Q1 2023. 

The company is a reverse mortgage lender. 

As it points out in its November 2024 presentation, it is focused on the senior home equity market. According to the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association, Americans aged 62 and older have home equity of $14 trillion. The company’s products help people 55 and older unlock this home equity to help fund their retirement. 

Although Finance of America has funded over $17 billion in reverse mortgage loans since its founding in 2013, this represents just 0.12% of the untapped home equity.  

FOA is Cooperman’s 28th-largest holding. With its profitability improving, it could be the billionaire’s best diamond in the rough.